Peter Zatloukal
Peter Zatloukal
Operating Partner
Thirty years building the future of software. Still just getting started.
Peter Zatloukal fell in love with software early and never really recovered. Over the past 30 years, he has built technology from the operator side, leading world-class research and engineering teams at Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and multiple startups. His work spans computer vision, edge AI, LLMs, and applied AI systems, with teams contributing to products including Kinect, Alexa, iPhone, Vision Pro, and Apple Intelligence. Peter was VP Engineering at Xnor.ai, acquired by Apple for $200M, and holds 45+ patents across AI and software engineering. At Ridge, he helps founders and the investment team understand where AI is going, which capabilities are becoming real, and which companies could define what comes next. Outside the office, Peter is married with two kids, a golden retriever, a science-fiction reading habit, and a skiing habit powered more by optimism than technique.
Peter holds a BA in Information Systems, Computer Science from the University of Washington.
Robert Simon
Robert Simon
Venture Partner
Lapsed entrepreneur, curious investor, founder sympathizer, father of a daughter, enjoy skiing and travel
Robert Simon is a Venture Partner at Ridge Ventures. He was previously the Senior Managing Partner of BDC IT Venture Fund. Prior to joining BDC, Robert was a General Partner at Alta Partners and a Venture Partner at Sierra Ventures.
Prior to his venture career, Robert was the founder or co-founder of several software companies including Arthas(DotBank), acquired by Yahoo; Navitel, acquired by Spyglass, PS Publishing acquired by Lotus Development and T/Maker.
Robert holds a BS and MS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. He enjoys skiing, mountain biking and travel.
Karen Otani Brewer
Karen Otani Brewer
Head of Investor Relations
IR/Ops aficionado. Product of the Aloha State. Revels in team success.
Earlier in her career, Karen was Director of Operations at startup HireAthena, where she managed all facets of operations and customer success. She was also an Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Credit Suisse.
Karen received her B.S. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University, where she graduated summa cum laude.
Outside of work, Karen enjoys reading, cooking, spending time with friends and family, and cheering on her daughters’ sports teams from the sidelines.
Eliyahou Amsellem
Eliyahou Amsellem
Associate
American-Israeli math nerd, product aficionado, and aspiring Talmudic scholar.
Eliyahou (Eli) is an Associate at Ridge. He is data-driven, obsessed with fintech and AI/ML, and eager to find early-stage B2B companies with radically disruptive technologies.
Earlier in his career, Eli was a Topological Data Scientist at S&P Global Market Intelligence and an Analyst at Maccabee Ventures. He also led business development and product strategy at TotemVC, selling an end-to-end fund solution across emerging fund managers and multi-billion dollar institutions.
Eli earned his MA in Mathematics from the Katz School of Science and Health and his BA in Mathematics and Computer Science from Yeshiva University.
Lovlani Schulte
Lovlani Schulte
Executive Assistant
Pink-loving extrovert with a flawlessly organized and borderline OCD approach to life
Lovlani is an Executive Assistant at Ridge Ventures. Her dedication to organizational efficiency and her keen attention to detail make her an invaluable asset to the Ridge team. Lovlani has a Bachelors in Business Administration from San Jose State University.
Wendy Phillips
Wendy Phillips
Venture Partner
Seasoned software entrepreneur and a fan of software entrepreneurs.
Wendy is a Venture Partner at Ridge. Wendy has a unique combination of founder and investor experience. After serving as a Partner at global private equity firm Advent International, where she spearheaded early-stage software investments, Wendy co-founded mobile event app Gather Digital and oversaw its sales and marketing efforts. The company thrived and was acquired in 2017 with Wendy leading both Sales and Business Development at the acquirer.
Wendy has a Bachelor’s from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Nancy Thomson
Nancy Thomson
Chief of Staff
The Rock; we probably wouldn’t know how to cross the street without her, mother of three.
Nancy is Chief of Staff and also supports the Managing Partner. She has been with Ridge for over two decades as office manager and executive assistant.
With her deep understanding of the industry, she facilitates HR, administrative, and operations initiatives with the firm. Nancy is the central hub of information for firm-wide responsibilities to ensure team cohesiveness. In addition, she organizes a wide variety of events and meetings, internally and with the broader Ridge community.
She has a BS in Psychology from UC Davis.
Derrick Lee
Derrick Lee
CFO
Excel jockey, appetite for learning, caffeine addict, obsessed with precision, father of two
Derrick brings nearly two decades of finance experience to Ridge, primarily from the venture capital industry.
Prior to joining Ridge, he was CFO at Wildcat Venture Partners and Mohr Davidow Ventures where he worked with investment professionals and attorneys throughout all stages of deal financings ensuring portfolio companies were successfully financed, negotiated deal terms, constructed term sheets, and documented review amongst a myriad of other responsibilities.
He previously held a variety of roles with State Street Corporation including fund accounting, internal auditing, and performance analysis for clients including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.
He holds a BA in Economics from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Arizona State University.
Patrick Kenealy
Patrick Kenealy
Venture Partner
Media business sage, student of computer history, operator turned investor, father of three.
Pat is a Co-Founder and Venture Partner at Ridge and currently serves as board director or observer at Espresa, nWay, Upwave and Yesware.
Prior to co-founding Ridge, Pat was CEO at IDG, Publisher and CEO of PCWorld and Founder and CEO of IDG’s Digital News Publishing subsidiary.
Pat holds a BA in Economics from Harvard University.
Gil Penchina
Gil Penchina
Partner
Repeat founder, rule breaker, closet plastic electric violin virtuoso, father of two.
Gil is currently a Partner at Ridge, having joined the firm as a Venture Partner in 2011, and becoming a Managing Director in 2017, following nearly two decades of collaboration on investments with Alex Rosen dating back to 1999.
Gil was previously Co-founder of Fastly (IPO), CEO of Wikia (now a top 50 website), and a member of the pre-IPO executive team at eBay. Prior to eBay, Gil worked at General Electric, Bain & Company, and started two small technology companies.
As a serial entrepreneur and prolific angel investor, Gil has been an early investor in “unicorn” startups including Cruise Automotive, Dollar Shave Club, LinkedIn, and PayPal. Gil’s angel investments span 100+ companies including Wealthfront, AltSchool, AngelList, eShares, Hooked, Switch.co, Indiegogo, Datanyze, and more.
He holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MBA from Kellogg School of Business.